1.6 million Chinese relics held by 47 museums worldwide

The looting of Yuanmingyuan, the Old Summer Palace, has resulted in tens of thousands of relics being lost to collections of other countries. UNESCO, in 2006, estimated about 1.6 million Chinese relics were in the possession of 47 museums worldwide. About one million of them are from the Old Summer Palace.

There are numerous pieces overseas. For instance, a two-meter high Buddhist stupa attracts many visitors at the Chinese Pavilion in the French Fontainebleau Palace. It is made of bronze and studded with emeralds. It was once displayed in the Fanxiang Building in the Old Summer Palace.

This picture is of a cloisonne light fixture that hung from the ceiling of the Fontainebleau Palace.

Below is a cloisonne box used to hold fruit and ice in Jiuzhouqingyan hall in the Old Summer Palace. It's estimated the Chinese Pavilion has collected more than one-thousand relics and three-hundred and twenty are currently on display to the public, all of them are from the Old Summer Palace.

Meanwhile, in the Paris National Library, a painting of one of the forty scenic sites of the garden is also considered to be an exquisite masterpiece. It features the lotus site.

Also, the British Museum has collected more than 23-thousand items from China, and most were used by emperors in the ancient times.